Laundry-fork



(N0 h I odeL) F. X. KRABACH.

LAUNDRY PORK.

No. 597,987. Patented Jan. 25, 1898.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

FRANK X. KRABACH,

OF DEFIANCE, OHIO.

LAUNDRY-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,987, dated January 25, 1898.

Application filed April 14, 189 7.

To ail whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK X. KRABAOH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Defiance, in the county of Defiance and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Laundry-Forks; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as wi ll enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in laundry-forks; and it has for its object to improve such devices by providing a cheap and efficient means to prevent the hot water from the clothes running down upon the hands of the user when the fork has been raised above the hands; to provide means for securing the head or fork to the stick should the same become loose by shrinkage of the stick, which so frequently occurs, and to so construct the branches or tines of the fork at their tips that they will serve more edectually in holding the clothes thereto when the implement has been turned to engage the clothes and will not injure or tear them.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when takenin connection with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved device. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional view of the same with the handle or stick in elevation and partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of theirsproved head removed from the stick; and Fig. 4 is a section taken in the plane indicated by the line can; of Fig. 2, looking downwardly.

Referring by letter to the said drawings, A indicates my improved device, which I shall denominate the head. This head is preferably formed from a single pieceof material and is preferably composed of aluminium al- 10y, as by the use of this alloy I combine lightness and strength and prevent tarnish or rust. It is obvious, however, that other material might be employed, if desirable. The head is composed of a socket a, which may be formed open, as shown, and preferably tapers from its base or outer end to its inner end, as better shown in Fig. 2 of the drawingsv The base or outer end of the socket Serial No. 632,146. (No model.)

is provided with an external annular flange b, which forms a guard or shield for the hands of the operator, so as to prevent water which leaves the clothes from running down upon the hands when the im plementhas been raised to a certain altitude. Disposed in the longitudinal plane of the socket and at a short distance beyond the inner end thereof is an inwardly-directed wedge c,formed upon a crossbar connecting the branches .of the head. The object of the wedge is to enter the outer end of the stick or handle and separate the same, so as to force the separated branches sufficiently apart to prevent said stick from being casually drawn out of its socket. The I stick B, which is of a sufficient length, is preferably tapered at one end, so as to enter the socket a, and by the employment of the wedge it will be seen that should the stick after having been wet and again become dry contract, so as to become loose in the socket, by simply striking the head the wedge will be forced into the stick or, rather,the stick'forced down upon the wedge, when the latter will spread the branches of the stick outwardly and tighten the same in the socket. The head is forked at its outerend, as shown at cl, forming two branches e, which may be slightly curved lengthwise and terminate at their outer ends in tips f. These tips are of a peculiar formation, being flat on their outer sides, as shown at g, and of an approximately oval shape in outline, and are rounded on their backs or rear sides, as shown at h. By reason of this construction there is no liability to tear or injure the clothes, and when the branches are placed upon the clothes and the device turned they will take hold and the clothes are not liable to slip off.

While I have described very specifically and in detail the construction which I have handle, the branches, the crossbar connectv ing the branches and the wedge on said crossbar arranged coincident with the socket so as to split the end of the stick or handle and spread the branches thereof apart, substantially as specified.

' 2. The improved head having the socket at one end and the fork at its opposite end with the branches of the latter terminating in tips of approximately oval shape in outline, flat on their outer ends and rounded on their backs or rear sides, and also having the shield at the outer end of the socket, and the Wedge disposed in the plane of the socket, and arranged adjacent to the inner end thereof to receive a stick or handle, substantially as specified.

Witnesses:

A. F. SoHRooH, F. L. HAY. 

